Kunoichi no Ai
by PrincessTutu22
Summary: Set during the Chunin exam arc, and later, early into Shippuden, Neji has always been callous and blunt, rude and pragmatic, but can Haruka Mikihisa, aspiring kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf Village, touch his heart? (I'm really bad at summaries, this story might not be as romantic as the summary sounds. .) This is my first published one-shot. No flames, please!


**Hello, everyone! Wowzers, it's been really long. This is a oneshot I wrote about one of my favourite ninjas from the Naruto anime/manga and an OC of mine. I hope you enjoy it despite it not being NejiTen (who I totally ship.) This is the first one shot I've ever completed and published, so no flames please. Enjoy everyone. (For reference my OC has shortish (slightly) wavy pink hair and dark skin so just in case you in a visual image.)**

It was the semi-annual Chunin exam, and the crowd was roaring with

excitement; especially for the exchange between Konoha genius Sasuke Uchiha and

Sunagakure beast Gaara of the Sand. But one particular Leaf Village kunoichi was looking most

forward to the match between Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga.

Haruka Mikihisa belonged to one of the smallest clans within Konohagakure. None held

seats of power, none had any special fighting techniques, but she was determined to prove that

she was capable of becoming one of the shinobi elite. Which is what inspired her admiration for

the pragmatic Byakugan holder. In her eyes, he was was prodigy. Strong, talented, graceful. A

worthy heir to the Hyuuga main branch if only not for his birth into the cadet branch. A master of

the art of Gentle Fist.

Team Watanabe took their seats in the upper half of the arena. From up above she could

see Neji's back and the unwavering determination radiating from Naruto. "Ganbatte", Haru gave a

silent whisper of encouragement. "There's no way Uzumaki could possibly beat Neji. I heard he

totally demolished Hinata Hyuuga", her teammate, Kuro, said beside her. "Even if that's true, we

should still give Naruto the benefit of the doubt", she replied coolly. _Neji is super cool, no doubt _

_about it, but from what I've heard about Naruto…_, she shook the thought out of her head, _No. No _

_way. It's definitely Neji's win. Still...what happened to Hinata was...unfortunate..._Haruka really did

feel for the girl. She looked on as the match commenced.

For awhile, Neji and Naruto held their stances; their contempt for each other only showing

in their stares. The veins from Neji's Byakugan were pulsing around his eyes. In a flash of

movement, Naruto ran toward him; hand balled into a fist to land a punch. Neji easily evaded his

attack; then countered by grabbing Naruto's arm and tossing him. Naruto does a small

somersault but emerges on his feet unharmed. "That isn't enough to take me down!". _I admire _

_his determination_, Haru thought, _but it's rather misplaced. I wonder what card he could have up _

_his sleeve._ Haru watched attentively as the two shinobi went at each other; dodging and evading;

Shadow Doppelgangers and the 8 Trigram 64 Palms.

Across the arena she noticed the Hyuuga clan leader and his daughter quietly observing,

and more off, Kiba loudly cheering and Hinata carrying a worried smile. "Kakkoi!...that Naruto

sure is putting up a fight, but Neji's responses are ten times more effective", Kuro exclaimed

excitedly. Haru nodded, "I agree. Naruto's more exceptional than I would have thought-", but she

was then cut off by Neji slamming Naruto into the ground. "Once a failure always a failure. Why

can't a loser like you see that", Neji's voice resounded around the arena. "What", Haru whispered

aloud, "h-how could he say that?" From the heap of rubble he was somewhat buried under,

Naruto replied, "Cause I know what it's like to always fail, but that doesn't mean I'll always stay

that way". Naruto limply stands up, "So don't give me that fate stuff. I control my own destiny".

"Look how beat up he is, and he's still able to get up and move. Isn't that amazing?

Haru...Haru...You there…", said Kuro. But Haru was lost in her own thoughts, _How could Neji _

_actually think that? That we're born the way we're born and we can't decide how we live our lives._

As the battle raged on and on, it was becoming more apparent that Neji's defeat was

imminent. At some points it seemed that he once again gained the upperhand, but in the end

Naruto Uzumaki, Nine Tailed Fox, proved to be victorious. "Now tell me again how I'm destined to

be a failure", Naruto exclaimed. After the expository hush of astonishment exhibited by the

crowd, there were then eruptions of cheering and whooping and clapping; starting with Sakura

Haruno; making its way around the arena. Murmurs and shouts of "He did it, he actually did it"

and "Way to go, Naruto" could be heard all around. Despite her shock, Haru still found herself

clapping. "Good job, Uzumaki", she whispered to herself.

After the end of the match, the crowd was once again full gear for the Sasuke/Gaara

battle. "I'm gonna go find a bathroom, I have a feeling this'll take a while", Haru said standing up.

"Alright, but hurry. Hokage knows why girls take so long in the bathroom", mocked Kuro.

"Wanna say that again?" "N-No, see you in a bit".

…

After Haru left the restroom, she made her way back to the arena, but could hear muffled

voices form a closed room around the corridor. One sounded particularly like Neji...but who was

the other? The door then opened; Neji leaving in Haru's direction and Hiashi Hyuuga in the

other. She quickly hid herself. "I know you're there. There's no reason for you to hide", he said, "I

won't hurt you". Haru slowly made her way out of her hiding place, "I-I know. You're Neji Hyuuga.

Of the Hyuuga cadet branch", her speech carried a nervous tone, but one of adoration as well.

"Yeah", he grimaced, "And you are?" "Oh my. My apologies", she deeply bowed, "I'm Haruka

Mikihisa. Of the Mikihisa Clan; level Genin kunoichi of Team Watanabe". "Nice meeting you. See

you around. Maybe", he began to walk off. "Um, pardon my rudeness. It may be extremely nosy

of me to say this, but what you said to Naruto, it isn't true at all. I really look up to you, and I hope

to be as great as you, despite me being from a small clan. So I hope Uzumaki's words eventually

hit home for you as much as they did for me". "Right", he replied, and he continued to walk off,

not turning around. But what Haru didn't see was the smile that graced his face. Naruto's words

hit home for him, and hers did too.

**-2 years later-**

"You're aim has gotten much better these last two years. It was great before but not it's

dead center", Watanabe-sensei praised. "Arigatou, sir", Haru replied, extracting her shuriken

from the tree stump. Kuro was sitting under a tree next to said stump, and Ai hanging from the

tree. "From now on we'll be in a four man cell, with Class C and above missions. This is

exciting", Haru glowed. "Definitely. You all have come a long way", he smiled at Kuro in

particular, "Especially this nutcase right here". Kuro flashed an embarrassed grin, running a

hand through his black hair out of habit, "Let's not forget our team go getter. Only a few steps

aways from being a renowned kunoichi". Haru laughed despite her blushing face, "Aw, shucks,

you guys. We're all getting there". "Well we better get a move on. Big day tomorrow", Ai broke his

silence to say. "Quite right, get outta here. Enjoy your evening", said Watanabe-sensei, shortly

before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"See ya guys", Haru said as she walked off into the village. She waved her hellos and

greetings to each of the familiar passerby, but one tall young man with long brown hair made her

stop in her place. He was unaccompanied by his teammates with the bowl cut hair and the fiery

personality, so Haru thought it would be ok to approach him. "Konichiwa, Neji. Ah, do you

remember me? Chunin exams, wavy pink hair, it was a little shorter. It's sorta straightened out

now, but I'm still the same girl", she greeted; twirling a strand of her hair nervously around her

finger. Neji's cool exterior softened as he face broke into a small smile, "Yeah, Haruka Mikihisa,

right?" "So you do remember me". "Yeah. I remember what you told me too. Care to take a walk

with me?" This might have been one of the happiest days of her life, "Of course".

"It's great to see a fellow Chunin. Our missions will be far more rigorous now". "Oh I

agree. My first big one is tomorrow", Haru was all smiles, I can't believe I'm actually walking and

talking with my hero. "I wish you great success then. Actually, I've sorta been meaning to talk to

you...about that day. It's just, Naruto's words did hit home for me, and yours did too. At the risk of

sounding creepy, I did some research on your clan. I knew I had never heard of it before, but it

was much smaller than I imagined, About 100 people. And uh...at the risk of sounding even

creepier , I did some research on you too. You were an outstanding student in the ninja

academy. You lucked out at Round 3 of the Chunin exams, but made a comeback your second

time around. You're really promising", he gave her an awkward smile. His compelling words

elicited a blush in response form her, "Oh wow. Gee, thank you. Really, hearing that makes me

really happy. You've been like my hero since the academy. In the ranks of shinobi genius with

Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara of the Sand". And then it was Neji's turn to blush.

"Anyhow, back to that day. After that, I truly learned about the death of my father and so

Naruto's words really inspired me. So if he can hope to be Hokage and you can be a great

kunoichi form a small clan, then what could I, one considered genius, hope to be?" Haru couldn't

help but smile, "Someone great". "I sure hope so. And I'd like to ask something of you". "What is

it?" "If I'm still in the village after you come back from your mission tomorrow, may I see you?",

he gave her a hopeful smile. Haru was delighted, "Yes, I would love that. I should hurry home

then. Oyasumi", she said as she walked off. "Oyasumi nasai". Neji Hyuuga, of the Hyuuga cadet

branch. Shinobi genius, master of the art of Gentle Fist, possessor of the Byakugan, wanted to

see her. Haru was elated. She couldn't wait to see him. Again and again.

**Aaaaww, isn't that cute? / Just makes my heart melt. Well, I hope y'all liked the story and I hope to improve somewhat on my writing skills. For those of you who follow the canon series, please be sure not to mention anything that could spoil the plot for any of the other readers in your comments. Thank you. Hope to see you soon. Rate and review. Ja~.**


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